Daniel m



(ModeL) D. M. SOMERS.

PACKING AND STORING VESSEL.

No. 345,931. g Patented July 20, 1886.

N PETERS. PnnwLilho n hnr. wauungton. uc.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DANIEL M. SOMERS, OF BROOKLYN, NENV YORK, ASSIG NOR TO SOMERS BROTHERS, OF SAME PLACE.

PACKING AND STORING VESSEL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 345,931, dated July 20 1886.

Application filed June 1, 1886. Serial N 0. 203,693. (Modeh) To all? whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DANIEL M. SoMERs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Brooklyn, county of. Kings, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Packing and Storing Vessels, fully described and represented in the following specification and the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the same.

This invention relates to that class of packing and storing vessels-such as cans, canisters, and boxes-which are usually made of tin or other thin sheet metal. Formerly vessels of this class were used to only a comparatively limited extent, and mostly for containing liquid or moist substances and such other substances as could not be well packed or stored in wooden or paper vessels. Of late years, however, the use of this class of vessels has been very greatly extended, and they are now used extensively for putting up many classes of dry articles and merchandise for the retail trade which were formerly put up in paper or wooden vessels or simply wrapped in' paper. This increased demand for sheet-metal packing and storing vessels has been due partly to the fact that many classes of goodssuch as certain kinds of drugs and medicines, delicately-perfumed soaps, many kinds of confectionery, tobacco, and many kinds of prepared or partly-prepared foodare much better preserved by being packed and stored in metal vessels, and partly to the factthat metal vessels can be readily made in a greater Variety of forms and be more highly ornamented, so as to present a more attractive appearance than vessels made of wood or paper, and thus serve to aid in selling the goods which they contain. This increased demand for the vessels of this class has, however, been due more particularly to the fact that they are much more rigid and serviceable than paper vessels or than wooden vessels of the same weight and bulk,and can be more generally utilized for varioushouseholdpurposes after the original contentsare removed. These sheet-metal vessels are, however, necessarily more expensive than similar vessels made of paper, and this fact has prevented them from being used for putting up a great variety of articles and merchandise for the retail trade which ,it is desirable to and which would have been put up in such vessels but for the additional expense.

It is the object of the present invention to provide cans, canisters, and boxes which, 5 5 while having the same general appearance and possessing many of the same characteristics and qualities as those made wholly of tin or other thin sheet metal, can be produced at a much less cost, thereby making it practicable to put up many classes of merchandise in an attractive and convenient form for the retail trade which have not heretofore been so put up owing to the expense of the vessels.

As a full understanding of the invention can be best given by a detailed description of a vessel embodying the same, such description will be given, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- I Figure 1 is a perspective view of a canister embodying the invention. Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional elevation of the same, and Figs. 3, 4, and 5 are enlarged views illustrating the manner in which the top and bottomor ends of the canister are united to its sides 7 5 or body.

Referring to said figures, it is to be understood that the canistertherein shown is of an ordinary form, having four sides and rounded corners. The bottom A and top B are made s of ordinary tin or other thin sheet metal, and are struck up to the proper form by dies in the usual manner. The top B is provided with the usual opening, I), having a flange, a, which receives a removable cap or cover, 0. The-8 sides 0, or what may be termed the body of the canister, instead of being made of tin or other sheet metal like the top and bottom, is made of paper or other material of a similar character, and is united to the top and bottom 0 by seaming. The body 0 is made of a single piece of material, which is bent to the proper form, and has its meeting edges overlapped and united by glue or cement before it is seamed to the top and bottom.

The form of seam employed for uniting the top and bottom to the body of the canister is illustrated in Figs. 3, 4, and 5. To form this seam the top and bottom are struck up, so as to provide shoulders 2, which fit into the ends :00

of the body, and flanges 4, which project over the ends of the body, as shown in Fig. 3. The

ends of the body are also preferably turned outward or flared slightly, as shown. The projecting flanges 4 are thenoperated upon by seaming-rolls and rolled inward to the position shown in Fig. 4, and finally to the position shown in Fig. 5, thereby forming a strong and tight seam. By this process the extreme edge of the flange 4 is folded over on itself, so as to form an edge, 3, which is of double thickness, and this doubled portion of the metal is indented into the paper of the body, as shown in Fig. 5. By folding the edges of the top and bottom in this manner they are rendered exceedingly stiff and rigid, so that when they are indented into the paper of the body they hold it with a very firm grip, which would not be the case if the single thickness of the metal were simply bent over and pressed against the paper.

it will readily be seen that if the top and bottom as well as the body were made of paper or similar material, the uniting of the parts could not be effected by seaming, as described, as the material would not be sufficiently rigid to form an effective seam; but by forming the top and bottom of metal the rigid metal of the top and bottom clasps the yielding paper of the body, and thus makes an effective seam.

The canister just described has the same general appearance as and possesses many of the qualities of a canister made entirely of metal. The metal top and bottom united to the paper body by seaming, as described, give to the canister a degree of strength and rigidity almost equal to that of a canister made wholly of metal. The metal top and bottom serve to keep the body in its original shape and prevent it from becoming warped or distorted, as in the case of vessels made wholly of paper. The metal top can be struck up to any desired form, and can be highly ornamented, so as to give to the whole a highly-finished and attractive appearance. The metal top also affords a substantial and rigid support for the cap or cover. The canister is, however, much lighter than acanister made Wholly of metal, and can be produced at a very much less cost, thereby making it available for many uses for which canisters made wholly of metal are not available because of their cost.

The form of canister herein shown has been selected merely for the purpose of illustration. It will readily be seen that it may be of any form, either square, round, or of any intermediate form, and that the top may be struck up to any desired form, and may be left open or provided With a removable cap, or with a hinged or any other form of cover.

The body 0 has been described as made of paper, because such material will usually be found best suited for the purpose; but the body may be made of other similar fibrous materials without departing from the essential features of the invention. It may, for example, be made of leather, or of cloth, or of cloth and leather combined with each other or with paper, and these materials are to be considered as the equivalents of paper. In some cases the body may be made sufficiently thin and light to be flexible, thus making the vessel collapsible.

Although the invention is herein described and illustrated as embodied in a canister, it is equally applicable to and is to be understood as embracing other similar packing and storing vessels, such as cansand boxes. The sides of the vessel, which are made of metal, will of course usually be the top and bottom, and they have consequently been so designated; but this is notin all cases essential. Any two of the opposite sides may be the ones selected to be made of metal.

What I claim is A vessel having its ends or two of its opposite sides made of sheet metal, and its remaining sides of paper or similar fibrous material, the edges of the metal being folded over to form the edges 3 of double thickness, and said thick edges being folded over against the fibrous material, so as to clasp and hold it, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

DANL. M. SO'NIERS.

Witnesses:

J. A. HOVEY, JAS. J. KENNEDY. 

